Machine for leveling printing characters.



V J. s. DUNCAN. MACHINE FOR LEVELING PRINTING CHARACTERS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-71 I916.

PatentedSept. 11 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

J. S. DUNCAN. MACHINE FOR LEVELING PRINTING CHARACTERS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-7| I9I6- IL 239,67?, Patented septull, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. S. DUNCAN.

MACHINE FOR LEVELING PRINTING CHARACTERS. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 7. I916.

LQWWW Patentedfiept. 11, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- n1 srarn earner nib.

JOSEPH S. DUNCAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ADDRESSOGRAPH COMPANY, OF CHICAGO; ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR LEVELING PRINTING CHARACTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

Application filed August 7, 1916. Serial No. 113,663.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH S. DUNCAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Leveling Printing Characters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for leveling the faces of printing characters struck up from the body of printing plates.

Prior to my present invention printing characters have been formed on metal blanks by striking up the characters from the body of the blank. Numerous machines equipped with cotiperating punches and dies have been devised for this purpose. The faces of the printing characters when so formed are more or less curved, particularly adjacent the edges so that difficulty is experienced in obtaining sharply defined impressions from the plates. Furthermore, certain characters will, owing to slight inaccuracies of the punches and dies, be higher than others so that the printing surface of the plate is not in exactly the same plane.

It is an object of my invention to provide means to correct this difficulty by bringing the faces of all of the characters to the same plane and flattening the faces to produce clearly defined edges thereon with a result ing improvement of the printing quality of the plates.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a simple and easily operable attachment for a machine for making printing plates, whereby printing plates of a desired character may be rapidly produced.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as it is better understood by reference to the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating the pre ferred embodiment thereof, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine for making printing plates with my attachment secured thereto;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the structure illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2; 1

Fig. 4: is a vertical section. on the line 4:"45 of Fig. 2 and Fig. 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

In the drawing I have illustrated a machine for making printing plates known as the Graphotype and comprising a frame 1, a pair of rotatable heads 2 and 3 bearing cooperating dies 1 and punches 5 adapted to be moved to position to strike up a printing character from the body of a plate 6 which is held in a jaw 7 mounted on the carriage 8. The carriage 8 is supported by rollers 9 and 10 on a guide 11 and is movable transversely of the machine to successively position difl'erent portions of the plate 6 between a punch and die 4. and 5. The jaw 7 is movable transversely of the carriage 8 to produce the separate lines of printing characters. The carriage 8 is connected by a flexible band 12 to a spring-controlled drum 13 which biases the carriage 8 to the right, viewing Figs. 1 and 2, and a suitable escapement (not shown) is provided which permits the carriage 8 to move a distance equal to-the width of a character and the necessary space between the characters after each individual character has been formed. A stop 14 is pivotally mounted at 15 adj acent the drum 13 and is normally held in position to limit the lateral movement of the carriage 8. A handle 16 is provided whereby the stop 14 may be swung inwardly to clear the carriage 8 and allow the latter to be drawn by the flexible band 12 to the extreme right, viewing Figs. 1 and 2. The foregoing structure is well-known in the art and is, therefore, not described in detail, it being understood that the machine disclosed is illustrative merely and that my invention may be applied to other types of machines for making printing plates to which it may be adapted.

Secured to the frame 1 of the machine for making printing plates is the frame 17 provided with a bed 18 disposed in alinement and in the same plane with the support 19 of the machine for making printing plates along which the plate 6 moved during the operation of striking up the printing characters from the body thereof. As will be readily understood when the carriage 8 is moved to the extreme right the plate 6 will be disposed above the bed 18. The upper portion of the frame 17 is provided with a plate projecting laterally therefrom to support a carriage 21, the pins 22 being pro vided on the carriage 21 to limit downward movement of the carriage by engagement with the upper face of the plate 20. The carriage 21 is provided with depending arms 28 in which are journaled a roller 21 adapted to engage the faces of the characters on the plate 6 and an anti-friction roller having flanges 26 thereon to engage the roller 24 and the under surface of the plate 20. The rollers 2st and 25 are of hardened steel and are of such size that when the flanges 26 are in engagement with the undersurface of the plate 20 the face of the roller 21 will be spaced from the bed 18 a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on the plate 6.

The operating lever 27 is pivot-ally mounted on a pintle 28 supported in brackets 29 formed on the frame 17 and is provided with an operating handle 80. An arm 31 of the lever 27 is connected by a link 32 to the carriage 20 whereby when the lever 27 is operated the carriage is moved along the bed 18. A spring 83 secured to a pin 34 on the frame 1 of the machine for making printing plates and to an arm 35 of the lever 27 normally holds the lever 27 in the position indicated in Fig. 2 with the carriage 20 disposed at the right, viewing Figs. 1 and 2, of the bed 18.

From the foregoing description the op- .eration of my invention will be readily understood. When the printing plate has been completed the carriage 8 will move to the position indicated in Fig. 2 in engagement with the stop 14. The operator re leases the carriage 8 from the stop 14 and allows it to move to the right, viewing Figs. 1 and 2, until the plate 6 is disposed above the bed 18. He then grasps the handle 30 and swings the lever 27 moving the carriage 20 and consequently the roller 24 along the bed 18. The roller 24: engages the faces of the characters on the plate 6 and reduces them to the same plane, incidentally flattening the faces to produce clearly defined edges thereon. The lever 27 is then moved to its normal position or, if released, will be returned by the spring 33 and the plate 6 is removed from the clips 7 after which a blank plate 6 is inserted in the clip 7, the

desired characters are formed thereon and the operation of rolling the plate repeated.

It will be readily understood that I have perfected a device of simple construction to rapidly and effectively reduce the printing faces of characters struck up from the body of a plate to a uniform plane and flatten the faces so that clearly defined impressions may be made therefrom. My invention is of such construction that it may be readily applied to machines for making printing plates heretofore constructed and in use and to different types of such machines without altering them in any manner other than is necessary to secure my invention thereto.

It will be apparent that various changes within the scope of the claims may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, a bed adapted to support said plate, pressure means associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on said plate, and means for actuating said pressure means to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, a bed adapted to support said plate, a pressure roller associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on said plate, and means for moving said roller over said bed to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane. 7 v

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, a bed adapted to support a printing plate, a support above said bed, a pres sure roller associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on said plate, ananti-friction roller between said pressure roller and support, and means for movingsaid pressure roller over said bed to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

a. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable earriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, a bed adapted to support said plate, pressure means associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on said plate, a manually operable lever, and a connection between said lever and pressure means for moving the latter over said bed to'reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

5. In a machine of r the character described, the combination ofa movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate a bed adapted to support said plate, a pressure roller associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing chars actors on said plate, a manually operable lever, and a connection between said lever and pressure roller for moving the latter over said bed to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, a bed adapted to support a printing plate, a support above said bed, a pressure roller associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters 011 said plate, an anti-friction roller between said pressure roller and support, a manually operable lever, and a connection between said lever and pressure roller for moving the latter on said bed to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, means for striking up printin characters from the body of said plate, an means arranged at one side of said lastmentioned means to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, means for striking up printing characters from the body of sald plate, a bed arranged at one side of said last-mentioned means, pressure means associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on said plate, and means Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the for actuating said pressure means to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

9. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable carriage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, means for striking up printing characters from the body of said plate, a bed arranged at one side of said last-mentioned means, a pressure roller associated with said bed and spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on said plate, a manually operable lever, and a connection between said lever and pressure roller for moving the latter over said bed to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a movable car riage having means thereon to hold a printing plate, means for striking up printin characters from the body of said plate, a be arranged at one side of said last-mentioned means, a rigid support above said bed, a

pressure roller associated with said bed and" spaced therefrom a distance equal to the desired height of the printing characters on said plate, an anti-friction roller between said pressure roller and support, a pivoted lever, and means operatively connecting said lever and pressure roller for moving the latter over said bed to reduce the faces of the printing characters to a common plane.

JOSEPH S. DUN CAN. Witnesses:

WM. 0. BELT, M. A. KIDDIE.

"Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

